Accountability

Accountability Resources

The Center for Assessment partners with education leaders to design, refine, and evaluate accountability systems that balance equity, transparency, and technical rigor. Grounded in research and best practices, our work ensures these systems address local priorities while meeting high standards for validity and utility. We provide thought leadership on reimagining accountability frameworks to better support educational equity, improve outcomes, and enhance stakeholder trust. Whether building new systems or optimizing existing ones, we collaborate to create solutions that drive meaningful, sustainable improvements in schools and student learning.


Recent Accountability Projects

Accountability Documentation

The New Mexico Public Education Department is developing technical documentation of the state’s accountability system. The goal of this work is to increase transparency and ensure year-to-year consistency in implementation of the accountability business rules.

Setting Accountability Performance Standards

The Arkansas Department of Education is designing a process to establish new standards for the state’s school accountability system. It will consider a school’s performance across multiple prioritized measures and allow grades to be reported for overall school performance and for two or more priority indicators.

Modeling Growth In Delaware

In state accountability systems, it is important that each indicator provide valuable and independent information about schools. A team from the Center—Senior Associates Will Lorié and Damian Betebenner and Executive Director Scott Marion—is working with a Delaware advisory group to investigate ways to model student academic growth.


Recent Accountability Blog Posts

Evaluating the Quality and Usefulness of the New Hampshire School Accountability System

New Hampshire set out to evaluate the degree to which its school accountability system worked as intended. This report describes the findings.
March 27, 2025

The Case for Statewide School Accountability Systems

States should continue to implement high-quality school accountability systems, regardless of the level or nature of federal oversight.
March 26, 2025

Choosing a Growth Model: Far More Than Technical Factors

Nearly all states use a measure of student growth in their accountability systems. But how should they choose a model? Our new paper provides guidance.
February 26, 2025

How Should States Choose a Growth Model?

Nearly all states use a measure of student longitudinal growth in accountability. But how should states decide which growth model to use?
February 20, 2025

Teaching & Assessing 21st Century Skills: A Focus on Student Agency

Agency—the ability to control one’s own thoughts, processes and actions—is a key skill for students to master. But assessing that mastery is challenging.
January 29, 2025

Subtraction in Assessment and Accountability (Re)Design

Resisting our urge to add design layers to assessment and accountability systems—and subtracting instead—can produce better solutions.
January 15, 2025

We’re Better Together!

Collaboration defined our work in 2024 and is at the heart of the Center’s philosophy. When we push one another to hone our ideas, we reach new heights.
December 18, 2024

Delaware Department of Education Growth Model Investigation: A Report of the Growth Model Study Group

The Delaware Department of Education's growth model study group examined the state's growth model and whether it should be replaced.
December 12, 2024

Massachusetts Accountability System Review Advisory Committee Report

The state's advisory group reviewed and discussed approaches to improve district and school accountability.
December 9, 2024

Maryland State Department of Education Assessment and Accountability Task Force Report

A summary of the assessment and accountability recommendations issued by the Maryland Assessment and Accountability Task Force.
December 3, 2024
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